Judge a Book by it's Cover
by Books and Sunshine
Summary: Sebastian ends up going to McKinley at the beginning of Junior year. He, of course, runs into Kurt, who does NOT go to Dalton, and they get along fabulously (i.e. squable like cats and dogs).
1. Chapter 1

_So... I went through Kurtbastian withdrawl when I had to go to the beach for a week and had no wifi. So this happened. I don't know if I'll finish this, but I have a couple more chapters that I've tentatively written, so I'll hopefully upload those soon... Also, I know nothing of cars._

* * *

_Junior Year, 1 week before school starts…._

"Kurt" Burt called from the kitchen "I'm really slammed at the garage this afternoon – think you could lend me a hand?"

Kurt sighed, and closed his magazine, leaving his room with one lingering glance back. This Fall's new styles would have to wait.

* * *

Kurt spent the rest of the afternoon in a pair of messy (though gorgeously fitted and rather stylish – well, they were his…) overalls.

An hour before closing, Burt called "Kurt, I really need to get this S.U.V. ready for pickup tomorrow, and it's going to need some real work" Burt adjusted his cap tiredly "So can you take care of the last customer of the day for me? I left him at the front of the garage."

Kurt hesitated, reluctant, but nodded his agreement anyway.

"Oh, and Kurt?" Burt called as he began to walk away "This boy looks about your age – he might be going to McKinley like you!"

Kurt trudged off to help the customer with a heavy heart – he knew his Dad meant well, but honestly? He didn't need more guy friends. Most guys in Ohio turned out to be serious homophobes, and he had enough of that already.

Kurt rounded the edge of the last car and caught a glimpse of the last customer. And caught his breath. Kurt wished that his first thought could have been how horrible his fashion sense was (he had on a shirt with a _popped collar_ for Christ's sake!), or how wonderful his car looked (seriously, a Scion Fr-s?! Was he made of money?), or even how tacky his hair looked. But it wasn't. He thought how gorgeous this boy was – and how – just for one second – he wished the boy wasn't straight. He quickly shook the thought from his head – it was foolish of him to even think that – and he approached the boy.

The boy was leaning against his car and seemed very intent on his texting.

"Ummm….. excuse me" Kurt began "I'm here to fix your car…. What seems to be the – "

Kurt was silenced by a hand held in front of his face "Just stop" the boy said, without even looking up from his iphone. "There is **NO** way I am letting my car get 'fixed' by a **GIR**- "

Kurt cleared his throat, feeling a flush settle into his cheeks, and the boy looked up. Then he did a double take, which would have been comical if it hadn't been so insulting, before his features settled into a cocky smirk.

"I'm Kurt" Kurt said, trying to redirect the attention back to the car, "may I borrow your keys so I can identify the problem?"

"Sebastian" the boy exchanged with a smirk, shaking the hand that Kurt had held out for the keys "and I said I wouldn't let a girl try to fix my car, so why should I let some princess like you? I want the certified mechanic. You know, the loser that that runs this place?"

Kurt could feel his blood boiling, and bit back the scorching reply on the tip of his tongue. This Sebastian person was a customer. And no matter how rude, his father needed the business. He gave a pained smile and said through gritted teeth "I'm sorry sir, but the head mechanic is busy. I assure you that I am a certified mechanic and will be able to help you."

Sebastian snorted at that "Funny joke, gay-face. Now get the head mechanic so I can get out of here. _**I**_ happen to have things to do."

Kurt saw red for a moment, and the moment after he used the adrenalin coursing through his body to snatch the keys from the Jerk's hands, pop the hood, and start examining the engine before the surprised expression had left the boy's face.

"_Hey_!" Sebastian exclaimed.

Kurt ignored him, studying the engine before turning to him with a look of horror etched on his face "What have you been **DOING** to his car?!"

Sebastian had the decency to look ashamed, shuffling his feet a bit before speaking "Well… I –"

"This car is worth more than your LIFE!" Kurt continued ranting "And is probably fairly new as the model is from just last year. Yet you have managed to nearly tear up the fan belt, you need an oil change, the gears are all clogged up with rust and gunk and – " he checked quickly "Oh, and you need to replace the brake pads. And change our tires. Did you EVER take your car in for maintenance?! And how exactly have you been driving this car?!"

The boy – Sebastian – had begun looking pissed off and affronted in the middle of his rant, but Kurt had really been incapable of stopping himself from chastising someone who called him gay face AND treated their car this badly.

"I can treat my car however I damn please! It's your job to fix it and mine to fucking DRIVE IT!" Sebastian retorted "So do your damn job!"

* * *

Kurt sighed – this was going to be a long afternoon.

" – I swear, Mercedes, it was the worst couple hours of my life!" Kurt exclaimed into his phone.

A giggle came from the other end "Boo", Mercedes chuckled "I think this is the most riled up I've seen you since the day Rachel spilled ketchup on your Marc Jacobs shirt and then offered you a kitty sweater in exchange."

" 'Cedes, it is _**not**_ funny! At the end, Mr. Douchey Smirk-Face then pays in cash after barely _glancing_ at the bill, and says 'Thanks, princess, maybe if you're lucky I'll grace this lame auto shop with my presence again.' " Kurt mimicked in a snarky tone "And then he just peels away in his fancy car!" Kurt's voice softened " 'Cedes… I just wish Ohio weren't so….. close minded" (homophobic, his tone seemed to imply).

"Oh, Boo. It's going to be okay. And don't forget that in two years, you'll be off to be a star in New York, where guys a _thousand_ times hotter than the ones from our school will be all over you."

Kurt gave a watery chuckle "Thanks 'Cedes. You always know what to say. I'll see you tomorrow to discuss bock to school outfits, 'night."

" 'Night Boo" he heard before clicking the end call button.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N So... instead of finishing my ChemE homework, I am instead typing up this. Oh, well. Since I have decided to be lazy, whenever anyone is speaking french, it will look like this_.

_**French**_

_Just because._

_1__st__ Day of School – Junior Year_

"Kurt!" he heard, and turned to his right to see Mercedes, Brittany, Santana, and Tina all gathered by the lockers.

After giving them a quick hug, Mercedes grabbed the schedule that was crumpled loosely in his grasp in order to compare it with her own. Her face quickly broke out into a grin "You have 3rd period history with me and Santana, then 7th Chem and 8th study hall with me!"

The bell rang and Kurt rushed off to Math, where he slid into the seat next to Artie.

Artie noticed him, then held out his fist, cheering "AP Calc, man!"

Kurt giggled, but fist bumped Artie anyway. God he was _so_ glad none of the Neanderthals were smart enough to take this course.

* * *

There was a lot of chatter in the halls, but Kurt thought nothing of it until he walked into History and Mercedes and Santana seemed to be into a _serious _gossip session.

"So what did I miss?" Kurt said, walking up to them "Did someone die? Oh god, did Sue finally snap?"

Neither of the girls so much as cracked a smile at his joke, but they both paused, and finally Mercedes burst out "Oh my god, Kurt! We have a new student and he's a boy – a Junior – and he's – he's just so – "

"Hot. Delicious. Fuckable." Santana continued.

"Santana!" Mercedes admonished, lightly slapping her shoulder.

"I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking!"

Kurt giggled and plopped down in a nearby seat – new kids were quite rare at McKinley (who ever wanted to move to Ohio anyway?) and whispered conspiratorially "Tell me _everything_."

* * *

By the end of the class, he knew that he was going to be learning most of his history outside of the classroom. He also knew that the new kid was gorgeous, with green eyes, 'fuck me' hair (to quote Santana), rich, smart, flirty, had rock hard abs (he had no idea how Santana knew this, but she seemed rather certain…), and that Santana would proposition his 'fine ass' the next time she saw it. Also, his name was Sebastian. Which sounded oddly familiar…. but he didn't know anyone with that name.

* * *

At lunch a lot of the gossip was focused on the new kid. It surpassed the excitement of their same old gossip (Finchel was back on – _again_, Mr. Shue had divorced his awful wife, Tina and Mike were together now, Quinn had a fantastic new haircut – Kurt thought she must've gone to the hairstylist he recommended and mouthed a "great hair" to her when they made eye contact)

So far, the day had been pretty great, with only a small locker slam from Karofsky in passing. But of course his day had to take a turn for the worse.

Walking in with a group of soccer players (not the worst jocks at the school by far, but still….) was none other than Sebastian – rich homophobe who ruins cars. Kurt groaned.

Santana turned to see what had upset Kurt and saw Sebastian "Damn! There he is!" She pointed out to the rest of the Glee club "I think Kurtie here like the look of him!"

"No. NO!" Kurt exclaimed "It's just….. 'Cedes, it's _him_, the guy from the garage last week…"

"No," Mercedes gasped "Not Mr. Douchey Smirk Face?!"

The rest of the gang laughed at their nickname, all except for Brittany, who exclaimed "Wow, that's a really weird name! It's strange, but did you know that there's a guy named Sebastian who looks _just_ like Mr. Face?"

"Britt…. That's not his actual name" Artie attempted.

"Oh…. I get it. It's his" Brittany glanced around, then dropped her voice to a whisper "_Secret Agent name. Don't worry, I won't tell."_

Santana patted her arm affectionately, then said "So what's the story behind this guy?"

"He came into Kurt's garage, called him a girl, insulted his work, called him names, and was basically a homophobic jerk!"

" 'Cedes!" Kurt cried, flushing a rosy color.

Mercedes glared back "Well, he did!"

"Jerk" Santana muttered.

"I'm sorry dolphin" Brittany comforted.

"We got your back, princess" Puck said, punching Kurt in the shoulder amicably. Kurt winced at the punch, and decided not to mention the fact that Puck always called him names, too.

"As a young woman with two gay Dads" Rachel butted in "I have a thorough understanding of how cruel homophobic slurs can be. I would be more than happy to have a chat with him over the error of his ways -"

After about ten hands reached out to keep Rachel from marching across the cafeteria that moment, the conversation turned to music and all the solos Rachel felt she was due for the rest of lunch.

* * *

After lunch was Kurt's favorite class: French. It was the class he looked forward to all day.

"Bonjour Madame" He said sweetly as he entered, nodding to Mme. Blanche, who smiled back at her favorite student.

In his free time, Kurt had studied French for fun, so though the McKinley French course only went up to French IV, he was on a separate level, so Mme. Blanche assigned him books to read, which they then discussed (all in French, of course).

Kurt sat himself front and center, and the few kids who were intelligent enough to be in the class filed in behind him (it was McKinley – not many people took high level classes, and a lot of kids took Spanish. Kurt had decided to take high leveled classes mainly because he would be able to avoid most of his bullies….).

Mme. Had just begun passing out the syllabus for the year when someone knocked on the door. She frowned in thought, then opened the door and exclaimed to the class "Oh! It seems that I have forgotten that we have a new student today!**_"_** She gestured, and the student stepped into the room.

Kurt groaned and slid as far down in his seat as he possibly could. _Of course_ Mr. Douchey Smirk Face had to come and ruin something else for him – and it was his favorite class at that!

"Monsieur Smythe was actually studying in France for a year," Mme. Blanche said, beaming at Sebastian, who was smirking superiorly at the class (stupid Meerkat face – Kurt had always wanted to go to France), "and he is fluent in the language, so he will be joining Monsieur Hummel for our book discussions. Please, take a seat up front M. Smythe."

And of course Sebastian sat next to Kurt. Kurt tuned out Mme. Blanche's discussion of the syllabus with the other students, and focused intently on doodling in his notebook (he had earned the right, as someone nearly fluent in French). Sebastian did not speak, or even as much as glance, at him. Kurt had nearly convinced himself that Sebastian did not remember him until he dropped his eraser near Sebastian's desk. It was said in a very soft tone, but when Sebastian deposited the eraser on Kurt's desk (as Kurt desperately tried to cover his face and look the other way) Kurt thought he heard him whisper "**_Lady Face_**".

Luckily, there was no interaction for the rest of the class, and when the bell rang, Kurt bolted out of the class as fast as he could. He met up with Mercedes at her locker, along with Mike, who also happened to be in their Chem class.

"It was terrible" Kurt bemoaned on their way to Chem "Mme. Blanche made him sit _right_ next to me, and he could totally remember me….. God, I hope I don't have any more classes with him."

"Ummm…." Mike said tentatively, peaking into the classroom they had just arrived at "I'm really sorry man."

Kurt groaned (he felt like he was doing a lot of that today). Not only was Sebastian in this class, but so were Azimio and Rick "The Stick". He, Mike, and Mercedes sat at a lab bench as far away from the bullies as was possible in the small room, but five minutes into the class Kurt could tell that Mr. Benedict had read the teachers handbook for making their students' lives miserable.

"So" Mr. Benedict said "I will be picking lab partners for you – we all know that you don't work efficiently when you pick your own. And the partners will be for the year people! That means NO switching. So….. Chang and Black, Israel and O'Neil….." Kurt tuned out the teachers droning until he heard his name "Hummel and…. Adams, and last, New Kid and Jones."

Kurt dropped his head into his arms "That's it" he said in a muffled voice "I might as well drop out of school now. There's no way I'm surviving the year with Azimio as my lab partner."

"Oh, Boo"

"Yeah, don't worry about it too much, Kurt. There's not a whole ton they can do under direct teacher supervision….."

But Kurt did worry about it. He worried about it when all the glee kids visited Mr. Shue to find out if anyone new had signed up for glee club (no one had). He worried about it when he bumped into Sebastian on his way out, who smirked and said "All that hairspray must have gone to your head, Casper the friendly gay. You can't even walk in a straight line." and waltzed away before Kurt could come up with a snappy come-back. He worried about it as he ate dinner with his dad, cleaned up, and got ready for bed. He just couldn't help but think that he couldn't take much more of this – the _last_ thing that he needed was for things to get worse, but new dangers seemed to be creeping in on all fronts with absolutely nothing to stop them.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: _Hey, it's me again, just a couple things before the next chapter:_

_1) To the people who reviewed, thank you so, so much! This story isn't even that long yet, so I wasn't expecting any and when I saw the reviews I freaked out and flailed like crazy (which was a bad idea, as anyone who has ever sat in a college dorm chair will know...)_

_2)I also freaked out the other day when I saw that cacophonylights is back and planning a new chapter( post/30884311009/ im-back-thank-you-all-for-the-awesome-birthday)- take out the spaces and paste this in your web address bar if you haven't seen it. I may have squeeled at my roomates after I read this and couldn't keep my excitment in (and they aren't even Kurtbastian fans... and they couldn't really tell what I was saying because it was too squeel-y...)_

_3)This is an AU, so I may make some adjustments to the events that went on during Junior year for the sake of Kurtbastian-ness_

* * *

The next day Kurt was welcomed back to school by several locker checks, and he could tell it was going to be a bad day. Which was terrible, because he had dressed his best today – one of his clingiest pairs of dark wash jeans, a white button down, and a simple black corset paired with a gorgeous indigo scarf and an expensive pair of black leather boots.

He managed to survive his first few classes with minimal shoving, but his "path least traveled" method of avoiding jocks inevitably took longer, so he was running late to lunch when he saw none other than Sebastian Smythe (arrogant rich jerk) in the empty halls. Who then proceeded to stride over to him with his classic smirk pasted on his face (Kurt was beginning to think that was just how his face looked…. ).

"So lady-face, anyone warn you that you're wearing girl clothes?"

Kurt glared "Actually, fashion has no gender, Meerkat" (it was the best word Kurt could think of to describe Sebastian's face) "However, some things are in fashion... and those popped collars and tacky-prep style of yours? It's not."

Sebastian's smirk widened "I'm sure the ladies that you stole that…. Top…. From would think differently. Unless it's actually _your_ shirt, princess?"

"Bite me, Smythe. For someone who claims not to care about fashion you look like you spend an hour or two every morning fixing your ugly CW hair."

"It's really only fifteen minutes, and I clearly know where to stop. A princess like you probably even keeps a hope chest full of embroidery and tiaras."

Kurt flushed at the statement – he may have a collection of tiaras, but it was far from girly! "At least I don't have huge buck teeth and an even bigger ego!"

"That's not the only thing that's big princess" Sebastian said with a wink "Oh, but I forgot that an innocent girl like you wouldn't know anything about things like that…"

On that note, Kurt turned on his heel with a growl and stomped off to lunch with his friends.

"Boo, why are you all red?" Mercedes questioned when he got there.

"It's nothing" Kurt mumbled.

"Oh no!" Brittany exclaimed with a look of horror "Did you eat some cherry gum?! Violet had some blueberry gum and she turned blue and swelled up huge!" She turned to Rachel desperately "You have to call your Oompa-Loompa friends to juice Kurt!"

* * *

Kurt's plan continued to work well up until 7th period, where he quickly grew suspicious of Azimio's decent attitude and gleefully smothered giggles. Kurt probably should've tried harder to avoid trouble, but he had already resigned himself to a bad day. Besides, it was rather difficult to resist when a large footballer grabs you by the wrist and pulls, saying in a fake-friendly voice "Come on, partner, let's go to the library to study!". Not like it made much sense that Chem partners had to study together, but Azimio was not the brightest bulb in the box, and it wasn't like any of the teachers cared.

So when Kurt was thrown hard into a closet to the sounds of the jeers and laughs of other jocks (who had apparently been lying in wait) and hit with at least four different slushies, he was not all that surprised. His day just got worse when he heard the click of a lock and one final shout of "Stay in the closet you fag!"

Kurt lay on the floor with his eyes closed for a minute, feeling the bruises form on his back and knowing that his eyes would burn as soon as he opened them. He fought in vain against the tears that welled up beneath his eyelids, and a few salty tears mixed with the garish fake colors of the slushies. In an effort to collect himself, he wiped his eyes off on a small corner of his shirt that remained unscathed by slushie, sat up, and blinked his eyes slowly. He was in the janitor's closet (_cliché, sooo cliché _the sassy part of his brain whispered). He turned on the light, a small flickering bulb strung up on the ceiling, and after a few minutes of searching, had the first stroke of luck he'd had all day. The big idiots had locked him in with the spare pair of janitor's keys.

It was halfway through 8th period by the time he unlocked the door, so he decided to just forgo his last class because 1) it was study hall – the teachers didn't even take attendance in that class, 2) He still had to get washed up and changed into the extra pair of clothes that he kept in his locker, and 3) it's not like anyone would notice that he was gone, anyway.

* * *

Kurt was the first to glee club, but a minute later Brittany, Sam, Quinn, Tina, and Mike swarmed in and grabbed the seats around his. He didn't feel much like talking, so he just listened to their chatter until he felt a gentle punch on his arm.

"Hey princess. We missed you in study hall today." Puck said softly, having come upon him unnoticed "It's not like you to just miss class like that."

Though straight as a ruler and a self-proclaimed badass, Puck was more in touch with his sensitive side than he let on. Ever since Puck had come over to visit Finn (who was out) a couple months ago but instead had ended up having a heart to heart with Kurt about Quinn and the baby, the two of them had been much closer.

Kurt smiled up at him, but before any words could pass his lips, the door burst open to reveal Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes all yelling in loud voices. The rest of the New Directions followed a good couple feet away from the fighting girls.

"Mr. Shue, I heard a cruel rumor that you planned on NOT FEATURING ME this year?!"

"Can it you whiny Hobbit! Other people have far more talent than YOU. If I don't get a solo this year, I will go ALL Lima Heights on your asses!"

"For your information, I just happen to be FAR better than any of you, and the solos are simply a reflection of my talent!"

"Oh HELL to the No! I am JUST as good, if not better, than your whiny, vanilla singing. I sung background to you _all_ of last year, and there is NO way I am doing the same this year."

"It's not MY fault that my voice clearly needs a solo because it's raw talent blows the judges minds. And Finn and I _have_ to duet because our voices sound fantastic together and the judges just love us! Right, Finn?"

Finn gave a look similar to that of a deer caught in the headlights when he was dragged into the fight.

"Don't you dare say a word, Frankenteen" Santana growled.

"I – bathroom" Finn yelled – caving under the pressure of the eyes focused on him – and fled as if the hounds of hell were chasing after him.

"Did he eat the Reese's Cups at lunch?" Brittany broke in "I had them last year, but the bottoms taste like paper and I got sick" her voice dropped to a whisper "I think I'm allergic."

"Stop being ridiculous, Brittany" Mercedes snapped, her temper flaring up at the wrong person.

"Don't call Britt stupid, bitch!"

"I didn't, Satan!"

"Okay, I think you all need to calm down" Quinn said, stepping down to join them in the center of the floor and placing a hand on both Santana's and Mercedes' arms.

"Don't act like you're perfect! You cheated on Finn and had a baby last year!"

"Like you've never cheated you hawk nosed Hobbit!"

Kurt tuned out the squabbling girls and sighed. He turned to ask Brittany if she was okay, but ended up jumping, flailing, and nearly falling out of his char in shock. Sebastian flashed him a 'charming' grin from his position next to Kurt – he must have slithered in like a snake while the girls were bickering. Kurt glowered back at him. After the day he had, he really should have expected Sebastian to infiltrate the last good thing that he had left and attempt to nearly stop Kurt's heart with shock. What did Sebastian even _want_?!

"So, dollface, are these glee losers _always_ like this? It's like a bad episode of the Jersey Shore" Sebastian said with a snigger. He cocked his head at Kurt and gave him an intense stare "You changed. What, your last outfit didn't do enough justice to our Puerto Rican Pride Float style that you had to change it midday?"

Kurt wasn't quite sure what to make of the fact that the only people who had noticed that there was something wrong were the school's badass and his newest bully. His own friends were too busy with their own drama to even so much as glance at him, but for some reason, those two had noticed. His head hurt just thinking about it, so he settled on saying "Just leave me alone, Smythe" and then stubbornly ignoring him.

Kurt could feel Sebastian's eyes on him, but Sebastian didn't say a word – just continued to stare intensely – like Kurt was an enigma that he just couldn't figure out.

After all this time, finally Mr. Shue managed to calm down the girls, call Finn back from whatever hole he had run to for safety, and sat everyone down in their seats. On rare occasions, Mr. Shue could be quite useful.

"So," Mr. Shue began "this week we _will NOT_ be preparing for sectionals just yet" he threw an admonishing look at the girls "We will instead be doing-"

Sebastian cleared his throat and stepped down into the center of the room.

"SPY!" Rachel immediately shouted, pointing her finger at him. Kurt snorted (along with half the room).

"Seriously?! If you could get your head out of your own ass for about two seconds, you would realize that McKinley has a new kid, and this is him" Santana snapped.

"_A_nyway,"Mr. Shue interjected (before another fight could break out) "Would you like to try out for glee club…. Ummm…."

"Sebastian" the man in question replied "And yes. Yes I would."

Mr. Shue beamed "That's fantastic! Do you have a song ready? Brad and the band can play nearly any song that you could think of."

Sebastian smirked "I'm pretty sure I can think of something….". He then went and whispered something in Brad's ear, who nodded, and the music began.

_"Is it still me that makes you sweat?_

_Am I who you think about in bed?_

_When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?_

_Then think of what you did_

_And how I hope to God he was worth it._

_When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch his skin."_

Sebastian's voice was warm and melodious, and, though Kurt hated to even think it, his voice was quite sexy. Sebastian's voice slid seductively around each word as he danced around the room, singing and sending flirty glances to first Santana, and then Quinn.

_"I've got more wit,_

_ a better kiss, _

_a hotter touch, _

_a better fuck"_

On the word "fuck", Sebastian paused in front of Kurt and shot him a small wink that went undetected by the others, but left a deep blush creeping up Kurt's cheeks. He _hated_ Sebastian and how he got under Kurt's skin. It was like he was toying with him simply for the fun of it. Sebastian was constantly laughing at him and throwing Kurt's sexuality in his face.

_"Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me_

_ Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of _

_Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat?_

_ No, no, no, you know it will always just be me_

_Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,_

_ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,_

_ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?"_

During the chorus, Sebastian actually grabbed Brittany's hand, twirled her around, and started dancing with her (in Kurt's opinion, the sexual grinding that was happening on the floor couldn't really be considered dancing).

_"So I guess we're back to us, oh cameraman, swing the focus_

_ In case I lost my train of thought, where was it that we last left off?_

_ (Let's pick up, pick up)_

_Oh now I do recall, we were just getting to the part_

_ Where the shock sets in, and the stomach acid finds a new way to make you get sick._

_ I hope you didn't expect that you'd get all of the attention._

_ Now let's not get selfish_

_ Did you really think I'd let you kill this chorus?"_

Mike grabbed Tina's hand, Santana pulled Puck onto the floor, and both pairs began dancing as well.

_"Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,_

_ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,_

_ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?_

_Dance to this beat_

_ Dance to this beat_

_ Dance to this beat_

_Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster_

_ Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster"_

Kurt sat stubbornly in his seat with his arms folded across his chest while the other members of glee joined in the dancing and singing, not wanting to further inflate the stupid meerkat-faced devil's already bloated ego (he probably thought that everyone loved him already), until Mercedes turned to him with puppy eyes and an outstretched arm. He sighed at that, but caved easily to his best friend, grabbing Mercedes' hand to join in.

_"I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fuck _

_Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me_

_ Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of _

_Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat?_

_ No, no, no, you know it will always just be me_

_Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,_

_ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,_

_ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?_

_So testosterone boys and harlequin girls_

_ Dance to this beat_

_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls_

_ Dance to this beat_

_ And hold a lover close_

_ Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster_

_ Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster"_

The club struck "sexy poses" as Sebastian belted out the last note of the song, then broke out into giggles. Kurt hated the fact that, despite the overt sexual references and cursing in the song and that Mr. Douchey-Smirk Face himself had sung it, he'd had fun. He and Mercedes had spent the rest of the song making overly dramatic "sexy" poses and pulling faces, making the other giggle as they danced.

Sebastian sent as smug look toward Mr. Shue "So, can I join your little cult now, Teach?"

"Of course! Your are a fantastic singer, Sebastian, and I'm sure you will be an excellent addition to the New Directions" Mr. Shue said, then cleared his throat nervously "Just….. this is a school environment, so can we keep the songs clean next time? No… cursing… or sexual references, please?"

Sebastian grinned wolfishly "But with a name like 'Nude Erections', what else could we sing, Teach? Wouldn't want to disappoint all the people who have been disillusioned by the name, would we?"

Santana jumped in to tease Mr. Shue "But Mr. Shue, what about when we did the song _Push It_ at the school assembly?"

"Uhhh…."

"Or when April Rhodes performed drunk" Tina chimes in.

"Ummm…"

"_Gives you Hell_ had curses in it"

"We all sung mash-ups doped up on some drug April Rhodes gave us…"

"And then there was the time we did the song _U Can't Touch This_"

"Well, I…."

"We did nearly a _week_ of Lady Gaga songs. Lady. Gaga."

"And did a mashup of _Any Way You Want It _and _Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'_ for Regionals for crying out loud. You can't tell me you don't know what those are about."

The glee club exchanged glances full of mirth as their teacher flushed and stuttered "Umm…those were… very specific cases! For the most part, glee club is to be a _family safe_ environment! So no more cursing or sexual references, all of you!" He sent a glare around to each of the glee members who were each smothering giggles. Sitting there, Kurt was glad he was a part of glee – though they were constantly fighting about some new (or old) drama, they were a family, and when they worked together, they always had a lot of fun. He just wasn't sure how he felt about Sebastian being assimilated right into that fun atmosphere…

"So," Mr. Shue continued, still attempting to appear in control (he really should have learned that he wasn't after last year) "This week can everyone pick a song about their summer? Either what they did or how they felt, any important benchmarks you passed or just a fun song that embodies the feel of their summer….."

* * *

_A/n: Sorry for this, just needed to explain that though Sebastian most probably listens to plenty of old and good songs and indie, he would likely sing cocky songs about partying, drinking, and sex around others... so... Panic!At the Disco... I thought it fit him._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/n so I start typing this up, and my iPod is on shuffle, and guess what comes on right away? Seb's version of "glad you came". :D that boy…_

_Also, sorry, I really meant to post this chapter sometime last weekend... but then I go reeeeeaaaaallly busy... and am still being really busy for the next few days... so I had to stay up late to post this. Sorry if there are any mistakes._

* * *

The next couple days passed in a blur of locker checks, exchanged insults, and lots of schoolwork. Things remained pretty much the same for Kurt….. except that Sebastian hadn't quit giving him intense stares since the day in glee club. Sure, he still insulted Kurt just the same, and kept his signature smirk on most of the time, but – sometimes he stared. At random moments in the day (walking in the halls, talking with friends, or just in class) Kurt would feel a prickly sensation on the back of his neck, and see Sebastian staring intently at him with a frown on his face, as if he was a puzzle that needed to be solved, which never failed to bring a flush to Kurt's face and a flutter to his tummy. He hated how the infuriating, mean, sexy Sebastian (shoot – Kurt meant stupid, not sexy) made him feel so weird – squirmy and uncomfortable. But he tried to put it to the back of his mind.

* * *

Kurt walked into history shaking off the feel of Sebastian's eyes. He had caught him staring again after a particularly hard locker slam (the jocks were good at pretending these were 'accidental bumps', so Kurt had stopped reporting these ages ago), but Sebastian's expression seemed a whole lot less quizzical than usual.

"Ugh, my hair looks _terrible _today" he heard Mercedes grumble as he took the seat next to her.

"Want me to do your hair?" Kurt offered, smiling "A French braid would look _fabulous_ with your outfit today."

Kurt was almost glad that Mr. Howard was a terrible (and old) teacher. Not only was his droning hard to hear, but he also didn't seem to notice their activities in the back. Or really any of the students' activities…..

They spent the entire period chatting about boys, classes, and music, Kurt's hands constantly in motion. By the end of the class, Mercedes had a French braid, Santana sported a fish tail (he'd given her a million tiny braids halfway into class, but after snapping a quick picture and giggling, she'd made him undo it), and Kurt's heart felt a little lighter. Ever since he was younger and used to watch his mother "get pretty" in the mornings, beauty, _especially _fixing hair had been relaxing to him. Playing with her gorgeous auburn hair had been one of his favorite things in the world to do: it was soft, pretty, and made him feel as close to her as he could get. And it was _not _girly!

"Hey" said Santana as they filed out of the class, fiddling nervously with the end of her fish tail as they walked (though she spoke with confidence) "Hummel, can I ask you something?"

"Yeeeeeeees?" Kurt said tentatively, because Santana usually didn't ask things, she just did them.

"I know you hate Smythe, but would you mind terribly if…. I still went after him? I mean he's just so – hot. And I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

Kurt forced a smile and nodded "Sure. Go for it. Why should I stop you? Why should I care?"

Santana shot him a cocky grin and flounced off, probably to set her plan of attack into motion.

* * *

Over lunch, Kurt picked at his food. Santana had changed into a new outfit – a low-cut form-fitting camisole with a short pencil skirt, and had been 'laying the base' for two periods. 'Laying the base' seemed to consist of flirty glances and using any chance to touch him that she could find.

"He'll be putty in my hands by the end of the day" Santana crowed to their table.

"No way he'll last that long" Puck put in. "I give it 'till the end of lunch 'till he's inviting you off to some empty closet with you."

"Yeah, man" Finn said grinning "Santana's got – ow – RACHEL – what was that for?!"

Finn shut up under the intense glare from the girl who had kicked him, and the rest of the group continued the conversation.

"I don't know, man. I think he'll be able to hold out for one … maybe two more days." Artie argued.

"No way, I've seen Santana work, if she hasn't hooked him by the end of the day, then he's got a serious problem with his you-know-what." Quinn broke in.

"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is" Puck challenged, slamming down a 20 dollar bill on the table "He won't even last the hour."

Quinn's eyes sparked with interest, and she slammed her own 20 dollar bill on top of Puck's "He'll last longer than an hour, but she'll be going home with him tonight."

Artie broke their intense stare down with his own 20 dollar bill to the table "He'll last a day or two, but no more than that."

"One week" Sam's voice rang out over the rest of them "Or more." He added his own 20 to the pile.

"Dude, you've gotta be joking" Finn snorted.

"Yeah," Brittany said, twirling her hair with her finger "Santana's _totally_ hot. I would get it on with her any day."

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "He just didn't seem to be all into Santana the other day. He just seems more like a guy who sets his sights on someone and pursues them – he probably doesn't want to be pursued himself."

"Whatever" Puck shrugged "Your loss. Now go win me some money, baby!"

Santana winked at the group, and then sauntered over to the table where Sebastian was sitting with the soccer boys. She leaned her arms on the table and bent over to display her bountiful chest (nearly the entire table's eyes bugged out, and all attention was _of course_ focused on her). After a minute, she began to trail her hand up and down Sebastian's arm, and purring softly to him.

"What do you think she's saying?" Tina asked curiously.

"Probably something naughty" Puck answered, grinning.

The whole table held their breath as Santana leaned forward slightly, brushing her cleavage against his arm, and whispered something in his ear. The atmosphere was completely broken wen Sebastian threw back his head in a laugh, said a few words to Santana, got up, and strode out of the cafeteria chuckling, leaving a stunned girl in his wake. Eventually Santana slunk back to their table and they crowded around her.

"What happened?"

"What did he say?"

"Why did he laugh?"

"Why didn't he take up the offer to tap _that_?!"

Santana glared "I don't know. He just laughed, said that if he was looking for a whore, he would go to a whore house, and told me to take my cheap inflatable boobs and leave!"

Brittany's voice broke the shocked silence that followed "But Ruby and Marshmallow weren't cheap! They were really expensive!"

* * *

In French class Kurt sat in the far back – the worst spot for his favorite class. It didn't even end up making a difference, because though people didn't mock him here, they didn't talk to him either. So when Sebastian Smythe entered, he was able to sit right next to Kurt, even though there were a million (okay, more like 10) empty seats at the front.

"**_So"_** Mme. Blanche began "**_We will be working on reviewing your grammar – especially that subjunctive tense – today…._**"

Sebastian turned to face Kurt, who was working on the summer French book reading questions, and grinned.

"**_Hey dollface, could you tell sandbags to lay off? She's been propositioning me every time she sees me, and I get the feeling that I'll get a whole collection of STDs if I so much as kiss her._**"

Kurt glared and spoke back fluently as well "**_Back off. Santana may be a bit….. promiscuous…. But there's no reason to be an abominable ass about everything!_**"

Sebastian grinned cheekily "**_Oh, but I thought your gay-face would like an ass like mine!_**"

Heat rushed to Kurt's cheeks, he was sick and tired of guys mocking him and accusing him of checking them out (hence why he never showered or changed with the other boys). "**_Douchebag!_**" he spat before turning back to his work.

"**_Oooooh_**" Sebastian crowed "**_Who taught the pristine princess all these naughty curse words? And here I was thinking you were an innocent baby girl._**"

Kurt ignored him as he cackled at himself, and eventually found something else to do (that did not include bothering a Kurt Hummel). Kurt didn't know why there people had to go out of their way to mock and bully him. Why couldn't they just ignore him or leave him alone?

At the end of the class, Mme. Blanche called the two up to her desk to tell them that the French books they would be reading were in, but that they would have to come by to pick them up after school. As soon as Kurt had smiled his thanks at Mme. And assured her that he would be there, he was off like a shot so that Sebastian couldn't follow him (one thing that bullying had taught him was that speed and quick thinking were his best defenses).

Kurt walked to Chem (with Mercedes and Mike) fairly quietly. The other two chattered while he offered halfhearted smiles and answers when they glanced over at him. In class they all separated our, Mike going over to sit at a lab bench with Jacob Ben Israel, Mercedes with the new kid, and Kurt with Azimio.

"Ok class!" Mr. Bennet announced "We'll be doing a very simple intro lab today involving boiling water. Grab a laptop, probe, safety goggles, beakers, Bunsen burners, solute, and the lab's procedure to get started. Don't ask me any questions because everything you guys should need to know is in that procedure. Work with your partner!"

Kurt sighed, but got up to get the supplies (Azimio surely wouldn't) and smiled at Mercedes as they both tried to get all their supplies in one trip. Kurt glanced over at Azimio, who was doing nothing, and decided that the best plan of action would be to ignore Azimio and just do the entire lab by himself. Which worked pretty well until he had just finished the lab, was cleaning up, and Azimio decided that he needed to pour the near boiling water directly onto Kurt. Kurt flinched back in surprised pain and gritted his teeth to keep a scream from slipping out. Tears formed behind his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Aaaawwww, are you gonna cry, homo? It's just a little hot water, take it like a man!" Azimio said, his tone just low enough not to be overheard by anyone but the closest tables.

Rick 'The Stick' happened to be at said closest lab table, _and_ had caught everything that happened. "Nice!" he exclaimed, exchanging a high five with Azimio. Kurt was glad that football players and their mortal enemies, hockey players, could bond over bullying him. It was just f***ing _fantastic_.

And of course then the teacher looked up. He frowned and asked "Adams, Nelson, are you two working?"

Azimio looked up innocently "Of course, Mr. Bennet! We …ummm…were just happy because I finished the lab." He said, waving Kurt's finished lab.

Mr. Bennet smiled "Keep up the good work boys! Hummel, next time help your partner, okay?"

Kurt could only nod, cursing the idiocy of bullies and teachers and Ohio in general. The final strike was the glare Sebastian sent in Kurt's direction, and when the bell rang, he gave a quick wave to a confused Mercedes and Mike, and then barely made it to the girl's bathroom before tears begun to flow down his face. After quite a few minutes, he began to calm down, and cleaned himself up, ran cold water over the patches of skin on his stomach and thighs that were red and irritated, and changed into a spare pair of t-shirts and jeans he had with him. After he was finished, Kurt sat on the ground – indifferent to the cleanliness of his jeans – and leaned his head back against the cool tile wall. He had found this small bathroom just off the glee hallway, and had quickly discovered that no one ever came here. When he was a freshman, he always smiled at the thought of it, and considered it his own Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, but by now he had learned that he was no Harry Potter. He couldn't fight his demons and triumph against them. In fact, Kurt was feeling rather fragile right now, and a lot like his nickname – porcelain. And if the bullying broke him now, he didn't think anything would be able to put him back together again.

He sat there as the school bell rang, and a wave of chatter filled the hallway, waiting until it got perfectly silent before sliding out of his bathroom. Kurt just wanted to get home now. Maybe read a book or sing a song to distract himself – Kurt groaned as he remembered that he needed to pick up the French book. French class seemed like it had happened years ago, but Kurt knew it had only been a few hours. He sighed and doubled back, trudging from the door back to French.

Kurt turned the corner and didn't even jump at the sight before him. He just slumped over, giving up. Azimio, Karofsky, and three other football goons stood around the lockers waiting for someone. A someone who was clearly Kurt, form the predatory light in their eyes as they stared at them, a slushie cup held tight in one of the goon's fist. Kurt couldn't even bring himself to feel sad or afraid or even angry anymore. He just felt numb. This seemed like the one final sign from the universe to just give up – that fighting was pointless – maybe he could be homeschooled?

"Well, well, lookie what we got here boys" Azimio smirked at him. "The little faggot finally decided to show up to his welcome party, huh guys!"

"Yeah" spat out one of the goons "We thought we hadn't given you a _warm enough_ welcome back to school, and Z thought up this idea."

"Tell him Z!" another goon prodded.

"Well" Azimio chuckled darkly "I was watching this old TV show…. And I saw something we might like to try. Shoving you into this locker!"

He banged open the locker, and the rest of the boys let out a jeer.

"Ummm…." Karofsky let out, shifting his weight from one foot to the other "I don't know if he's going to fit, guys…"

Azimio stopped and turned to him "What, you going soft on us Karofsky? Had Lady Hummel turned you into a fairy, too?"

"NO!" Karofsky spat out "I just – it doesn't matter if he fits! We'll just shove him in anyway!"

Azimio shot him a toothy grin as he grabbed Kurt (who hung limp from his fingers, unresisting, but internally rolling his eyes at the absolute cliché of the entire situation) and proceeded to try to push him in, shoulder first.

"You're right" he grunted "he's too big – I don't know if he's going to fit."

"That's what she said" smirked a voice from behind them, and, as one, the group of footballers spun around to look at Sebastian, letting Kurt crumple to the ground bonelessly without Azimio's brutal grip to keep him up. "I generally avoid going for such mainstream sexual jokes, but I just couldn't resist…"

"Whattaya want, new kid" Azimio snarled.

Sebastian sighed "There are so many fun was I could answer that question that it pains me to say the least funny one. But why exactly are you all beating up Princess Hummel, here?"

"Why do you even care what we do to this homo?" Goon #1 questioned.

"Yeah – what are you – in love with fairy boy or something?" Goon #2 sneered, exchanging fist bumps for his comment.

Sebastian rolled his eyes in exasperation and said "Or something. Just please tell me that you're doing all this to Hummel because he – I don't know – stole one of your sister's sweaters or committed some horrible crime."

"Yeah" Azimio snorted "He committed the horrible crime of staring at our junk in the locker! In case you didn't notice, new kid, Hummel is a fag! No one wants something like him around!"

"God. I knew it." Sebastian mumbled, shaking his head "This is why I fucking hate close-minded, pathetic, moronic, underfunded public schools..."

"What did you say?!"

"I hope you realize" Sebastian announced in a louder voice "That since I got here I have heard _at least _three slurs come from your mouths and with the very clear assault that you have on your hands here, any half-decent lawyer would be able to sue you within an inch of your lives."

Azimio's eyes narrowed "Was that a threat, new kid? Better watch yourself, or people will start to thinking you're a fag like Lady Hummel over here."

Sebastian smirked "As it so happens, I am gay."

Kurt's head snapped around to stare at Sebastian in disbelief – it was _impossible_. Several of the footballers made a chocking sound, and Karofsky managed to stutter out a "What?!"

Sebastian rolled his eyes "I'm _gay_. A homosexual. I kiss other males. I like cock – well, I'm more of an ass man myself, but cock is always nice."

Kurt could feel a tingling replacing the numbness, and the color rising in his cheeks – and he wasn't the only one. Goon #3's face was completely purple as he shoved Sebastian up against the lockers and spat "Stay away from us, you freak."

Sebastian somehow stayed calm (Kurt was sure that he himself would have been freaking out if he was in Sebastian's position), laughed, and said "I would, but you seem to like pinning me to these lockers – are you sure you're not the gay one here?"

Goon #3 dropped him like a hot potato, and Sebastian brushed himself off and continued "But if you were talking about not hitting on you – don't worry. I have standards and you guys are _nowhere_ near my type. Plus you probably all have small dicks and flabby asses."

"Just shut the fuck up, fairy!" Azimio shouted.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention, my father is a powerful states' attorney, so if any one of you" Sebastian pointed to each of the 3 goons, Azimio, and Karofsky (who had gone white as a sheet sometime during the confrontation and had moved to the very back of the group – almost hiding) "Uses slurs or physical violence again, you'll be out of school and into juvie faster than you can say 'fairy'."

"You don't scare us, butt-boy" Goon #1 snarled.

"Yeah" Azimio sneered "_We _rule this school and you're some nobody, preppy homo. And we'll make sure you learn how wrong you are."

He grabbed the slushie from Goon #2 and threw it into Sebastian's face like a frigid slap before leaving with one final jeer of "fags!". To Kurt, it looked a lot less like leaving and a lot more like running away.

"Shit!" the curse drew Kurt's attention back to Sebastian Smythe, rich, rude asshole, and, apparently, fellow gay. The boy was covered with cherry slushie and was vigorously rubbing his eyes (Kurt knew how much a slushie to the face stung), and almost unconsciously Kurt was on his feet and pulling a monogramed handkerchief from his pocket (it wasn't Kurt's fault that he liked nice things….).

"Hold still, keep your eyes closed, and stop rubbing them." Kurt commanded softly to Sebastian, who immediately stilled. Resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, Kurt reached up and gently wiped away the red dye from his eyes. The red dye stained the handkerchief like blood, and Kurt would have to throw it out after this, but he found himself unable to care. After he had cleared Sebastian's eyes of slushie, a hand reached up to cover his, drawing Kurt's to the side of his face, and Kurt was suddenly met with a pair of intense grass green eyes staring back into his own. A spark seemed to run through him and Kurt stepped back quickly, bringing his hand with him. Sebastian was left holding Kurt's handkerchief, which, after a second, he used to wipe the majority of slushie from his face.

When he turned to go, Kurt found his voice to call tremulously "Wait –are you seriously driving home like that?"

Sebastian turned around for a second, his gaze filled with a steely determination now "I have… business…. to attend to now. Don't forget to pick up your book from Mme. Blanche, Princess."


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N Sorry I haven't updated in... like... two whole weeks. I keep meaning to update and then life is like "No- you have all the homework and tests and labs and general stuff to do. Also, you're sick.". But the first round of 4 o'clocks are finally over, it's pacing break, and I'm feeling better, so I actually have some time :). So to make up for my lack of posting I'll probably post the short Seb POV chapter that I wrote tomorrow. Also, I just couldn't resist sticking a line from Avengers in there... it just fit so well and I couldn't help it ^^._

After being so thrown by his encounter with Sebastian that he had stumbled over his French when speaking to Mme. Blanche on Friday, Kurt spent the long weekend (Monday was president's day, so they had off) trying to convince himself that Friday's events were a massive hallucination. Trying being the operative word. So on Tuesday, he entered the school full of trepidation.

Kurt walked down the halls, jumping at every loud noise, until he reached his locker, smiling tentatively at Mercedes a few lockers down. He walked to Calc with Artie, nodding as the boy talked animatedly about directing, which he had recently discovered a passion for. They pushed through the stream of people, Artie talking and Kurt just listening until Kurt spotted a football player headed toward him. Kurt instantly froze, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, as if any of this would make the impending locker slam hurt less. He jumped when he felt a touch on his arm.

"Hey man, what happened? We're going to be late for Calc!"

Kurt opened his eyes to see Artie staring at him with a confused expression on his face. He quickly glanced around and spotted the jock on the other side of the hall, walking away as far from Kurt as possible. Which was odd, since usually jocks didn't waste any chance to bully him. He shrugged and headed to Calc, feeling more wary than ever.

* * *

That day in history, they decided to do nails – weeeell, Mercedes and Santana's nails. Nail painting was one of the places Kurt drew the line. That and doing makeup other than basic cover-up and powder. He just thought that these things ended up looking fake and cheap – simple, clean, and natural was the best way to go.

"No, you didn't" Mercedes giggled at Santana painted the other girl's nails a highlighter orange.

"Yes, I did" grinned Santana proudly "Then his fat nerd friend comes up and asks for a picture with me like, seriously? Did he not learn from his friend's mistakes? Then I found Britt – who had somehow won best costume and was dressed as Xena and we got out of there."

"I'm just curious as to how Brittany got to a comicon being held in New York, anyway."

"No clue, I'm just glad she calls me every time she ends up in trouble or else I'd have to stick a GPS chip on her."

Kurt snorted under his breath as he looked at them. It was so typical Glee Club of them – ready to scratch each other's eyes out for a solo on Friday, but doing each other's nails and giggling together on Tuesday. Though this particular makeup probably had something to do with Brittany – she hated when people fought, and she could always bring out the best in Santana.

"I'm gonna go after Smythe again today. During Glee Club. I got some tricks up my sleeve. Besides, guys love a girl who can sing. And who's….. flexible."

"God, you are terrible, girl." Mercedes laughed.

Santana winked at her "If you ever need help seducing a boy, I'd love to give you some pointers. Britt and Q are backing me up and as for the song…. That's a surprise."

"But – what if he still doesn't go for you?" Kurt questioned tentatively.

Santana snorted "_Puh-lease_ – have you seen me in action? After that, he'll be begging me for more."

Kurt sighed, feeling his heart lurch unpleasantly. Santana was right. Even if Friday wasn't some weird hallucination (which he still wasn't totally sure about…), Sebastian was probably just confused. Or lying to mess with the jocks. Either way he'd leap at the chance to be with someone like Santana. And Kurt would be all alone again.

"What's got you so blue, Boo?" Mercedes questioned, seeing the frown that had covered Kurt's face.

"Nothing" Kurt said, forcing a smile.

"Is it those assholes bullying you again?" Santana asked "Because your say the word and I go all Lima heights on their asses!"

Kurt smiled "No. They really haven't bothered me much today."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Kurt noticed the same thing happening over and over again – as soon as a jock would spot him in the hallway, they would go to any and all lengths in order to avoid him – they crossed to the opposite side of the hall, turned and walked in the other direction, and once Kurt swore he even saw one jock dive into a nearby classroom. Funnily enough, Goons 1, 2, and 3 also all had bruises at the edge of their clothes – undetectable to anyone but those who knew where to look.

* * *

Kurt edged into Chemistry uneasily. None of the jocks had done _anything_ to him all day. They had to be planning something. Had to. It was probably really bad. He sat down and glanced at Azimio, who was carefully avoiding his gaze, and who was mysteriously sporting a painful-looking shiner.

"Okay class" Mr. Benedict announced as soon as the bell had rang "Come get your supplies and get started on today's lab. The rest of the week after this will be lecture."

Kurt stood up to get the supplies, but before he could take a single step, Azimio had bolted out of his seat to get them. That was….. unusual. Kurt frowned in confusion, looking up to Mercedes, who had a questioning look on her face, so he shrugged back at her.

Throughout the lab, things did not get any less weird. Azimio had stopped helping after his initial retrieval of the supplies, but he actually kept taking notes on the lab, and though he did not say a single word to Kurt he kept sending him these uneasy glances. Finally, near the end of the class, Azimio knocked into one of the beakers that still contained liquid, and it spilled across the table. Though it seemed much less of a big deal than anything else Azimio had done, it caused him to literally freak out. Azimio, looking like he was about to wet himself, shot a panicked glance over at Mercedes's table – where Sebastian seemed to be glaring at them again – back to Kurt, before dashing to the front of the classroom.

"Feel sick! Nurses" Azimio burst out to Mr. Benedict before bolting out the door (without letting Mr. Benedict say anything first…), leaving Kurt with an even stranger feeling of _what the hell?! _than before.

He glanced over at Sebastian to see that a smirk had overtaken his face. Kurt frowned. Something weird was definitely going on, and he needed to find out what before it all blew up in his face.

* * *

Kurt spent most of study hall mulling over the problem while his friends chatted amiably. All the jocks were avoiding him. Maybe they finally realized how bad bullying was? He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity, as if that would ever happen. Maybe they decided that 'catching the gay' was really possible. Or they were planning something dastardly and trying to lull him into a false sense of security. But they seemed genuinely afraid…. and they weren't witty enough to think of lulling him into a false sense of security… maybe they went through some sort of traumatic incident during the weekend? Collectively? Maybe….

"Hey Princess, you okay?" Kurt broke from his reverie to see Puck looking down on him softly.

"Fine…. Just fine"

"You've been staring at that one paper all period. I know Calc isn't that hard for you."

"Kurt sighed "Umm… it's just the jocks. They haven't done_ anything_ all day. They run as soon as they see me. Azimio freaked and ran out of the room just because he spilled a beaker on the desk _near_ me. Is there… something going on Noah?"

Puck hesitated "I don't know anything for certain – just – the rest of the guys on the team started acting _weird_ this weekend. And there's a whisper of a rumor going around – I wouldn't have heard it except that I'm on the team and there was a party this weekend and people tend to spill secrets when they're drunk. Especially to the Puckster. But I heard that that kid Se- "

The bell rang, covering Puck's words, and leading Santana to spring up from her seat.

"Damn! That's the bell already! Hummel, I need you to help fix me, Q, and Britt's hair!"

Dragging him through the halls, they quickly arrived at a girl's bathroom where Quinn and Brittany were already waiting, both in slinky, low cut black dresses.

"Quick! Do our hair in loose updos, and can we use some of that double-sided tape of yours to set our necklines lower?"

Kurt rolled his eyes – usually the tape was used to set the lines of an outfit just right, but trust Santana to find a slutty purpose – but he complied anyway, handing them the tape and starting on their hair.

"Dolphin" Brittany whispered as he combed his fingers through her hair "Can you put a great big bow in my hair?"

Kurt gave Quinn and Brittany French braids (and yes, he tied a ribbon in a bow at the end of Brittany's, to which she giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek) as they pulled their necklines low before holding them in place with a piece of double-sided tape. On Santana he did a slightly showier twist that made her stand out.

"Da-yum – we look nice!" Santana exclaimed as she checker herself out in the mirror. She had changed into an equally slinky and low cut red dress. She looped arms with the other two girls, and they marched off to Glee, Kurt trailing behind them.

Kurt slid into the seat next to Mercedes as the girls marched up to Mr. Shue, announcing that they were going to do a song.

The music cut in – a catchy beat – before Santana started singing.

_Lately I've been stuck imagining_

_ What I wanna do and what I really think_

_ Time to blow out_

_ Be a little inappropriate_

_ 'Cause I know that everybody's thinking it_

_When the light's out_

Santana gyrated against the other two girls, causing nearly every boy in the room to freeze and stare, drooling a little. Except of course Kurt. Who was thoroughly disappointed in the rest of his gender.

_ Shame on me_

_To need release_

_Uncontrollably_

_I wanna go all the way_

_Taking out my freak tonight_

_I wanna show all the dirt_

_I got running through my mind, whoa_

Santana stalked up to Sebastian, running one lingering hand down the boy's chest before spinning around and sashaying back to the front of the room, all male eyes fixed on her undulating hips.

_I wanna go all the way_

_Taking out my freak tonight_

_I wanna show all the dirt_

_I got running through my mind, whoa_

_Lately people got me all tied up_

_There's a countdown waiting for me to erupt_

_Time to blow out_

_I've been told do what you do with it_

_We keep both my hands above the blanket_

_When the light's out_

The girls rolled their hips and sashayed from side to side, as if they were at a nightclub rather than in the front of their choir room.

_Shame on me_

_To need release_

_Uncontrollably_

_I wanna go all the way_

_Taking out my freak tonight_

_I wanna show all the dirt_

_I got running through my mind, whoa_

Santana, Quinn, and Brittany wove their way through the seated Glee members, taking a moment to wiggle their hips and run a hand down many of the male members (and had glares shot at them by the chosen male's girlfriend).

_I wanna go all the way_

_Taking out my freak tonight_

_I wanna show all the dirt_

_I got running through my mind, whoa_

_Shame on me_

_To need release_

_Uncontrollably _

Santana wove back around to the front of the choir room, until she was standing directly in front of Sebastian, who she tossed a wink. Quinn and Brittany strode around behind him; one on the left, the other on the right.

_I wanna go all the way_

_Taking out my freak tonight_

_I wanna show all the dirt_

_I got running through my mind, whoa_

Seductively, Santana moved forward to straddle Sebastian's waist with her legs, still undulating.

_I wanna go all the way_

_Taking out my freak tonight_

_I wanna show all the dirt_

_I got running through my mind, whoa_

Santana ended the song with her arms around Sebastian's neck and seated fully in his lap. She looked satisfied for about a second before Sebastian stood up and dumped her on the ground.

"What the hell!" Santana exclaimed, surprised and pissed off. She leapt to her feet and yelled in his face "What is your problem?!"

Sebastian snorted with exasperation "My 'problem' is that I am gay. Capital G gay! Gayer than a bunch of girls wearing rainbow and going to a Justin Beiber concert! I. LIKE. COCK. Why is that so hard for all of you to understand?!"

Oh, Kurt thought numbly – so it wasn't a hallucination after all. If he had been feeling a little less shocked, he probably would have found Finn's amazing spit-take and the surprised looks that graced the rest of the Glee Club's faces rather humorous.

"Aaaaand that was the rumor" Puck said, leaning over to speak in Kurt's ear. "That and the fact that he threatened the football team with his lawyer dad, lawsuits, lost jobs for their parents, expulsion, and the beating of a lifetime. But who knows how much is true."

"But- but you don't seem gay! You like sports" Finn sputtered as soon as he could breathe again.

Sebastian rolled his eyes "News flash Frankenteen, but not all gays wear heels and makeup and prance around like a pretty, pretty princess. Just because Hummel's a walking stereotype doesn't mean we all are. Really, the only thing we gays have in common is that we like dick. Also, hot guys running around in tight clothes with physical contact – sports are a gay man's wet dream!"

"Wait a sec white boy. If you're gay, why are you such an ass to Kurt?" Mercedes questioned.

"He's a killer whale." Brittany nodded to herself like this made sense "That's why he's so mean to my dolphin and the other fish."

The rest of the gang ignored Brittany's input and continued questioning Sebastian.

"Mercedes is right" Quinn said "If you're really gay, why are you such a jerk to the only other gay boy in McKinley?"

"Yeah, man" Artie joined in "That's uncool. We all thought you were homophobic or something."

"God, public schools are the worst" Sebastian groaned "In France it's assumed you're bi until proven otherwise. And I just dislike Hummel. Not because he's gay, but because he gets on my nerves and his voice could shatter glass. Anyway, it's not like I'm usually nice to people. My sister says I'm just naturally antagonistic and my therapist says that I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others." Sebastian shrugged, "It's never bothered me."

"Okay, okay" Mr. Shue interrupted, finally deciding to intervene "We all know that it's okay to be gay. Why don't we all just sit down and start in on this week's lesson."

"Wait – just one more thing" Santana said, still looking a bit miffed from being tossed off like that "If you were gay – out and proud – why didn't you just announce it to the school at the beginning?"

Sebastian shrugged "Didn't know that I'd need to. Plus, I really only come out as super gay when I'm pursuing a guy. And aside from this being a _public school_ – _ugh_ – the only ones here who seem like they could be gay guys – at least in this room- are me and blowjob lips over there" He gestured to Sam "and between the nerds, common idiots, and bear cubs out there, there are not a whole lot of boys to pick from."

At that comment, Sam made a choking noise and turned a deep shade of red. A small smile curled at Santana's lips, and Kurt was sure that the pair of them would be fast friends – after she got over the slight of his lack of attraction to her.

"Wait" Mercedes frowned "What about Kurt? Surely my boy over here would be at the top of the list of gay boys?"

Sebastian smirked, then remarked in a ton full of a biting sweetness "Oh? Gay face is a boy? I thought he was a transsexual awaiting the final operation. I didn't want to be rude or anything…"

Kurt was up out of his chair and laying his hand across Sebastian's face with a resounding _smack_ before he realized what he was doing. But he would have done the exact same thing over again if he'd had a choice.

"Ouch – Kitty's got claws" Sebastian laughed, the burning red handprint stinging on his cheek ineffective against his smirk and massive ego.

Kurt huffed and grabbed his bag. "I'm leaving" he announced "I will see you all tomorrow, and on Thursday for Glee."

On his way out, he heard the meerkat ask "Glee's on Thursdays, too?" and Rachel answer in that know-it-all tone of hers "Once we get started up, we usually have glee Tuesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes Fridays. Mondays and Wednesdays too if we need more practice. And don't worry about Kurt; he can be a bit of a diva sometimes."


	6. Sebastian Smythe

_A/N I swear, the only times I ever post is so late at night that it's early... but here is the short Seb chapter, as promised. Sorry Sebastian's such a jerk-face so far... that's kinda his personality to people who don't hold a place in his heart yet. Also his go-to attitude when he gets defensive. But his interactions with Kurt will get better, I swear! Also sorry for his language - he's kinda a potty-mouth. Thanks for reading, rewiewing, favoriting, or following this story :) It helps me keep up my delusion that some people actually like this story :)._

* * *

Sebastian Smythe settled his usual self-satisfied smirk on his face before striding through McKinley's front doors with a bang. His smirk grew wider as heads turned at his arrival – he was the hot new thing, after all. And he loved the attention.

"Ummm –" a blonde cheerleader had walked up next to him suddenly, twirling her hair in an annoyingly vacant, girly manner "I was wondering if you'd like to go to Breadstix with me sometime… It's the most popular restaurant in town and I could…. show you around…."

Sebastian snorted as he saw the girl's eyes flicker up and down his body - he couldn't really blame her though – compared to the appearances (and wealth, class, and overall fucking _quality_) of the boys at this atrocious public school, he was an absolute fucking god. "Sorry, babe" he said, flashing a grin "You're missing a couple vital bits for me." He strode off, leaving the thoroughly confused vapid blonde behind.

He went to his locker (which remained bare as a baby's bottom – public school lockers were lame already without having to add tacky decorations) for the books he needed, put them in his navy blue messenger bag, and turned to head to class only to be faced with a midget with glasses, bad hair, bad teeth, and a video camera.

"Hello" the boy with the Jew-fro intones dramatically – surprisingly, not to Sebastian, but rather to his camera "This is Jacob Ben Israel here with the new student, Sebastian Smythe! Sebastian, my sources confirm that you have recently joined the Glee Club, otherwise known as social suicide, why did you decide to declare yourself a 'loser'?"

Sebastian leaned back against his locker with a snort and a raised eyebrow. Did this dweeb fancy himself some sort of reporter? Who would listen to a nutjob like this?

The Israel kid continued his rant without any prompting "Also, how do you respond to rumors that you've given the brush off to so many girls because you are gay and currently getting it on with McKinley's resident girly-gay, Kurt Hummel?"

Fuck this shit. Sebastian didn't have to listen to this. He pushed off the locker and headed off toward his first class, but immediately spun around at the boy's next words.

"Well, you heard it here first folks! Sebastian Smythe did _not_ deny anything, so he is most certainly McKinley's newest resident gay!"

In one smooth motion, Sebastian strode back to the asshole with the video camera, hooked his foot behind the other boy's ankles and pulled, gracefully grabbing the camera from the air as the boy fell.

"Listen you little pest" Sebastian hissed, feeling more bored than angry – this boy's actions were just sooo fucking _predictable_ "I'm gay. G-A-Y. I like boy and I'm really not afraid to show it. But this little private interview stunt you got going on here?" Jacob squeaked out a 'be careful with that!' as Sebastian waved the camera around emphatically "Just isn't going to cut it. My dad is a state's attorney. I know publicity, and I do it well. If you release so much as a statement without my express permission, I will sue you for slander and do it for everything you own until you are reduced to begging for pennies on the street corner and dumpster diving just to keep that ugly mug of yours alive. Capiche? Good. If you'd like to release a statement, call this number for my Dad's P.R. firm. Have a great day."

Sebastian ended his spiel by tearing out the film from the video camera and dropping it on the boy's chest along with a business card before striding off. People at this school were far too annoying, and far too reminiscent of a cloud of irritating mosquitos. With an intelligence to match. And fucking predictable. Striding down the hallway, Sebastian spotted a few jocks who seemed to be attempting parkour simply to get away from him. He chuckled a little at this – toying with people was the most fun he had ever had (the fun didn't last as long when the people were far less intelligent and powerful than him, though).

The people were boring, the classes were boring, and the thing that Sebastian Smythe hated the most in the world was being bored. Maybe he'd bother Hummel today? Hummel was surprisingly witty, and somehow always managed to throw Sebastian for a loop, doing the exact thing that Sebastian least expected from him. He kept Sebastian on his toes – and also seemed to have attained the ability to flush a pretty shade of rosy pink that extended so far beneath his conservative layers that Sebastian wondered if anyone had ever seen the extent of it. Sebastian's lips curled up into an amused smile as he thought about the smaller boy's flushed, bright eyed look of irritation. Today was going to be a good day.


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N I'm so so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I suck. Things have just been a bit busy. School is kicking my butt and three of my friends in the past two weeks have, for one reason or another, had to or decided to leave school. Hopefully at least one of them should be back next semester. Sorry also for posting during the wee hours of the morning all the time. My grammar is probably not the best at these times, so I hope I didn't screw anything up (bad grammar in fics is one of my personal pet peeves - I hate when people don't capitalize correctly or mix up their, there, and they're or affect and effect or insurance and ensurance and most of all defiantly and definitely, so if my grammar sucks, correct it, please). Sorry for the long author's note. On a happier note, Grant Gustin will be returning to Glee as Sebastian Smythe (so happy about this even though he and Kurt probably won't be getting into awesome insult wars like before)._

Wednesday

Kurt almost didn't want to go to school that day. Not because of bullies this time, but because after the past few school days he just didn't know what to expect anymore. Heck, maybe today the school had decided to get up and go to f-ing _Narnia_. He sighed into his bowl of cereal.

"That's a pretty heavy sigh, kiddo" Burt commented, walking in dressed in his Hummel Tires and Lube jumpsuit "Is there something wrong?"

"…No, I'm fine Dad"

"Are those bullies still bothering you, Kurt?"

"Actually" Kurt paused "They really haven't been that bad…."

"That's good" Burt said, his serious expression lightening up. He glanced up at the ceiling "Well, I'm off to the garage, kiddo, but you might want to wake up Finn now if you're going to be getting to school on time. You know how he is." With a pat on Kurt's shoulder, Burt headed out.

Kurt dumped the rest of his cereal down the garbage disposal, put his bowl in the sink, and headed upstairs to wake Finn. He tiptoed past the master bedroom – ever since Carole had started picking up some night shifts at the hospital she had been sleeping rather late – and crept into Finn's room.

In a move that showed strength and dexterity as well as how accustomed he was to waking up Finn, Kurt grabbed the edges of the blanket that was wrapped around the Finn-burrito and pulled, dumping a disgruntled Finn onto the ground before laying the blanket gently back down on the bed.

"HEY – dude, I was sleeping!"

* * *

Of course, Finn still nearly ended up making them late. Kurt quickly slid into the seat Artie had saved for him in Calc a second before the bell rang.

"Thanks" Kurt said, shooting Artie a grateful smile.

"No problem, man" Artie said, then hesitated "So…. How was your day?"

"Good" Kurt replied "Finn was nearly late, but that's nothing new."

"Good, good" Artie hesitated again before leaning in conspiratorially "So, that new kid –"

"Oh, look!" Kurt exclaimed nervously "The teacher's here already!"

Kurt had never been more glad for the appearance of a teacher. Artie gave Kurt an annoyed glance, but he remained quiet as their teacher came in and started up the class.

* * *

After class, Kurt waved at Artie and mumbled something about needing to take care of things before running off, effectively stopping any conversation about Sebastian Smythe, though he doubted he'd be able to avoid all the glee members during Lunch.

* * *

Kurt had gotten far less bullying in gym than he usually did. For the most part he was avoided. It was his best gym class so far. And he'd had time to think up what he would say to everyone in glee….

When he walked into history, Mercedes and Santana turned toward him with matching expressions that said 'tell me everything you know or else'. Before they could utter a single question, Kurt simply held up his hand and quickly blurted out "Yes, I know Sebastian Smythe is gay now, yes, he is still a jerk, no, I don't really know anything more than you guys, and yes, he did do something to the jocks, but I have no idea what. But it scared them. I don't want to talk about this the entire period, so can we just get all of this out of the way now? Any questions?"

Mercedes and Santana glanced at each other, then back at Kurt before their tirade of questions hit him like a fierce storm.

"Do you like him?"

"Does he like you?"

"Do you think he's how?"

"Has there been any action there?"

"Was he trying to keep it a secret?"

"Is he really as experienced as he says he is?"

"Hell no, no – who's mean to someone they like?, from a _purely_ objective point of view, yes, GOD NO! Why on earth would you ask a question like that, not as far as I know, and I have absolutely no idea. There, that it?"

The girls glanced at each other, then said in unison "I guess…."

"I still think you need to hit that" Santana grumbled.

"SANTANA!" Kurt shrieked, blushing.

"What? He's hot, you're hot, and you're both gay! It's not like anyone else here will be able to tap that, so you might as well."

"What?! No! Even _if_ we were interested in each other – which we're not – he has made it perfectly clear that he finds me to be the farthest thing from attractive. I'm just a girly gay-face to him."

Mercedes touched his arm "You _are_ attractive, Boo. Heaven knows _I_ thought so. I had a crush on you! And Britt even went out with you!"

Santana shrugged, unconcerned, but chimed in anyway "You do have a seriously nice ass. It would be criminal to waste it. So you could do us all a favor and use those assets of yours to seduce Snarky McRich-gay."

Kurt rolled his eyes, but smiled "Thanks, girls. Now, as that really it this time? I'm sure the rest of Glee will bombard me with questions over lunch anyway."

"Fine."

"Sorry, Boo."

* * *

Kurt dragged his feet on the way to lunch resulting in him being the last one there. It wasn't that he thought he could escape it, but he just did not expect this interrogation to be the most fun lunch he had ever had. He took a deep breath, pushed open the doors, and walked to the Glee table, sitting cautiously at the end. All eyes immediately turned to him, and Rachel managed to get out a "So, Kurt –" before she was interrupted by the clatter of another try on the table, and Sebastian Smythe himself plopped himself down in the seat right across from Kurt.

"Fuck! Would you believe that the soccer team is composed of raging homophobes?! They better still let me on the team or else I will sue their asses so hard that they won't see the light of day until they're eighty!" Sebastian steamed.

"Welcome to Homophobia, Ohio" Kurt said wryly back to this monologue.

"Oh, but that's the ironic thing" Sebastian smirked "Three to five percent of the population are gay, at the very least. And how many people are in this school, exactly?"

"Wait – earlier you said something about suing" Kurt frowned in thought "Is that what you did to the jocks?"

Sebastian's eyes took on a hard look "I… gave a little warning to their parent's so they'd know what would happen if there were any more slipups. And I gave some of the jocks a more personal lesson…. So they'll have a motivation not to repeat their actions" Sebastian's smirk grew into a toothy, darker grin.

"Oooo-kay" Kurt said hesitantly "Just remember that the law applies to you too…"

"The law is ….._ flexible_, sweet cheeks." Sebastian said with a wink. "And I just happen to be in a position to manipulate it to my liking.

"Whatever" Kurt said, giving up trying to teach a meerkat morals and turned to face the other Gleeks, who had been avidly watching the repartee between Kurt and Sebastian. "_SO_ – Rachel, what do you think we'll be doing this week in Glee?"

Rachel beamed as Kurt directed the conversation toward her "Well, Kurt, I'm so glad you asked, because you did miss the other day's glee and….."

* * *

After the previous days, Kurt had given up hoping that Sebastian would not sit next to him in French, so he just made sure they were seated near the back of the room where their bickering wouldn't get in anyone else's way of learning.

This class period, however, Mme. Blanche announced a quiz for the rest of the class and went back to talk to Kurt and Sebastian.

"**_So"_** She whispered to them "**_How far are both of you in the book?_**"

"**_Halfway_**" Sebastian said, sounding bored.

"**_Nearly a third of the way in_**" Kurt whispered.

"**_Great!_**" Mme. Blanche beamed "**_On Friday, we three can discuss the first half of the book, and we'll do the rest next week. Then I can assign you two a paper to write on it._**"

Mme. Blanche gave them one more smile before getting up to walk up and down the rows of students, ensuring that no one would cheat.

Kurt glanced over at Sebastian, who smirked and said "**_Slow reader too, princess? Gosh, girly fashion sense and you're slow at everything – I wonder what you're good for in the first place!_**"

Kurt glared "**_At least I'm not a Meerkat-faced spoiled-little-rich-boy who's never done anything for himself ever._**"

Sebastian grinned, and Kurt got the feeling that his knowledge of the French language was about to be pushed to its limit.

Luckily without Azimio or Rick bothering him in Chem, the rest of the day was a breeze. When Kurt got home, he slammed the door and dropped his bag.

Burt popped his head into the room with a "Hey, kiddo, there's a Ferrari in the garage today, wanna work on it together?"

"I'm busy" Kurt yelled over his shoulder, already tromping up the stairs.


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I have still been writing, but school has been kicking my ass lately, and a few of my close friends have dropped out or taken a medical leave for the semester, and I've just felt in perpetual need of a hug. But at least next week is Thanksgiving break, so if I don't update again during then, feel free to yell at me. On a more story related note:_

_1) I finally named the French book they were reading!_

_2)__**TerribleSpy**__ - thank you for trying to insert logic into my story, but it clearly does not run on logic, but rather runs on magic and unicorns. Which is why I'm allowed to mix events from season 2 and 3 and still call this Kurt's Junior year. And why I can have Sebastian pull film out of a video camera. :P_

_3)No, I have not picked a song for Kurt and Seb yet - if you have any ideas, feel free to leave suggestions after you finish this chapter and understand what I'm talking about... (though I have at least another week - story time - to think one up)_

_4)Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. And sorry for this long author's note. If you read all of this you are a much better person than me._

* * *

Thursday

Thursday went by in a blur. Jocks avoided him, Sebastian went out of his way to insult him, and glee members were absorbed in their own drama. So, for once, Kurt had a relatively relaxing day – he didn't have to keep his guard up so intently, he wasn't the center of any dramas currently so he could just sit back and gossip with his friends in class, he didn't have to worry so much so he could actually pay attention in class, and even Sebastian's insults seemed trivial and didn't put a damper on Kurt's good mood. In fact, for the most part, Kurt just ignored Sebastian for the day (any time in the past couple days that they had talked, it had usually devolved into fighting anyway, so what was the use of talking to him?). Kurt sat at the other end of the table from him in lunch and spent the entire time chatting with Mercedes, Kurt avoided him in the halls, and he didn't look at him or respond to him in French – instead he kept his face buried in their French book (Mme. Blanche had them reading _Candide_ in its original French form). However, throughout the entire period of Chem, Sebastian glared angrily at the back of Kurt's head, leaving Kurt to wonder why Sebastian was so pissed at him (he had been ignoring him all diy – Kurt couldn't possibly have annoyed him!). Study hall was just the distraction that Kurt needed, and he was free to laugh with his friends and brush off the worry that something was wrong.

Then Kurt decided to go to his locker before Glee, and his good day was officially spoiled. For the first time in several days, Kurt felt himself slam into the lockers and cursed himself for letting his guard down.

"Hey!" Kurt exclaimed, whirling around with a bitch glare fixed on his face "What is your… problem…"

"My problem is you!" Sebastian snapped back, glaring "Sorry if your high heels tripped me – what are you, auditioning to be a stripper or something?!"

Kurt glanced down at his subtle, barely an inch off the ground, heels, and then back up at Sebastian before retaliating with "There's no need for me to audition to be a stripper when there's a slut like you around!"

"I'm sorry if getting a little action makes me a slut to a prude like you! Not that any guys would want a piece of that – you'd practically have to wear a paper bag over your gay-face to get any action!"

"Yeah" chimed in a dumb jock who had walked by and smelled the blood in the water (Kurt could picture it very clearly now – all the jock-sharks surrounding the bleeding Kurt-fish after scenting blood-the fact that Sebastian had stopped protecting Kurt. God, he had been watching far too much of the discovery channel lately.). "No one would want a fairy _freak_ like _you_ around Hummel!"

Kurt drew in a breath to snap back (he had grown used to using barbed words as his defense) when Sebastian suddenly spun to face the interloper, spitting out "Johnson! You seem to have missed the point of our little chat before….. Not get your odious, ugly mug, pit-smelling, fat ass away from us, or you'll get worse than Azimio, Black, Peterson, and Weston combined!"

Kurt stared along with the rest of the student body as the jock's eyes grew wide in fear and confusion before he turned tail and fled. And continued to stare as Sebastian turned once more and strode off toward the choir room. How could he just leave after everything that had just happened? After everything….

"Hey, wait!" Kurt called after Sebastian, feeling his anger spike again. "I'm not done with you!"

By the time Kurt had caught up to Sebastian (somehow Sebastian managed to have longer legs than Kurt himself) and grabbed his shoulder, they had entered an empty hall close to the music room.

"Hey! What the hell was _that_? What did I ever do to you that made you hate me so freaking much?!"

"You have been ignor- I mean – umm – being really annoying all day!" Sebastian retorted, coming off as flustered rather than angry "It's not my fault that your annoying gay-face bothers the hell out of me!"

Kurt paused, unsure for a second of how to respond before saying with a softer voice "I just – thought we were getting on better terms with each other and then you pull something like this and I just – I don't know….."

Sebastian turned his head away before saying gruffly "Let's just get to Glee."

Kurt sighed, but nodded anyway, following a few steps behind the taller boy. Before stepping into the choir room, and still without looking at him, Sebastian muttered "About what you said before? I- I don't hate you."

Kurt stopped and stared for a second 'I don't hate you' – what did that even mean? Finally he just shook his head and stepped into the choir room to sit by a frantically waving Mercedes – his eyes searching out Sebastian, who was sitting several seats away with the same old Sebastian Smythe smirk on his face and Kurt rolled his eyes – the boy had faster and more violent mood swings than Santana PMSing.

"We are _totally_ doing duets" Mercedes whispered conspiratorially to Kurt.

He smiled back "Wanna do one together?"

"Sorry Boo – me and Satan already promised to do one together – and we have the _perfect_ song in mind…."

Kurt bumped her shoulder gently to lift her frown "No worries – now that we finally have an even number, I shouldn't have to duet by myself."

They grinned in remembrance of Kurt's _Le Jazz Hot_ duet with himself.

Mr. Shue strode in, silencing the chatty room, before marching to the board, writing 'Duets' on it, and spinning around, announcing "Alright class – it's time for duets again!" and on that note, the entire club burst into cheers, drowning out the rest of his words. Sebastian was the only one who seemed a bit confused by the excitement.

"OKAY!" Mr. Shue exclaimed, trying to regain control of the class "You guys can pick your own partners, but try to sing with someone you usually don't! I want to hear new voice combinations, and remember that we have not yet decided who to feature in Sectionals yet! And don't forget, there are two free meals at Breadstix for our two winners of the duet competition!"

Kurt rolled his eyes as he saw Rachel and Finn partner up – clearly they had decided to ignore the 'sing with someone you usually don't' rule that Mr. Shue had announced. Kurt glanced around for potential duet-mates – clearly not Finn or Rachel….. Mercedes and Santana were partnered up already….. his voice would sound terrible with Lauren Zizes'… he couldn't partner up with Sam after last year's debacle….. Quinn and Puck seemed to be discussing singing together…. maybe Britt? but she had already rabbed hold of Tina and was jabbering on a mile a minute…. and that just left Artie, Mike, or…

"Hey Princess" Kurt jumped at Sebastian's voice from the chair next to him "Guess it's you and me, huh?"

Kurt glanced quickly back at the rest of the group – who had all been paired up (damn) – before looking back at the annoying smirking meerkat, who seemed to be pretending that nothing at all had happened earlier.

"Fine" Kurt said with a sigh "Do you have any ideas for a song?"

"Eh – not really. I thought we could brainstorm some when we go to your house after school tomorrow."

Kurt rolled his eyes – only Sebastian would invite himself over to someone's house like that, but they did have to meet some time for this…. "Fine. Meet me in the parking lot after school tomorrow and you can follow me back to my house."

"Fantastic" Sebastian said with a grin that _almost_ looked genuine "So…. You guys are acting like you've done duets before."

"Yeah, last year. Rachel and Finn always duet together, and the rest here have a tendency of singing with whoever they're dating at the time. Most aren't now, though, because of Mr. Shue's new rule of 'don't sing with the same person'."

"So….. who'd you sing with last year?"

"Uh – well…. After the competition I sang with Rachel…."

"Not after" Sebastian prompted with an interested glint in his eye "For the duet competition. Who was it?"

Kurt answered reluctantly, knowing that Sebastian would figure it out some other way if he didn't tell "I was… going to sing with Sam, the new kid last year…."

"Because you had a crush on him?" Sebastian interrupted with a smirk.

"NO!" Kurt flushed "He just – I – his hair color clearly came from a bottle and I just thought…"

"What, that he was gay?" Sebastian laughed a bit, then shook his head "Sorry Princess, but you seem to have the absolute worst gaydar that I have _ever_ seen. For more reasons that one."

"Anyway! I found out that he wasn't and, well, he would have ended up getting picked on for dueting with the school gay, so I let him go and…. Um….well….. Iduetedwithmyself.

"What was that?"

Kurt sighed, but spoke slower "I did a duet with myself. To _Le Jazz Hot_. In a dual personality suit that I made myself."

Sebastian paused for a second, then burst into laughter "God" he said between bouts of laughter "I would have _paid_ to see that."

Kurt shook his head and said "See you tomorrow, Smythe", leaving the room to the musical sound of Sebastian's laughter and the chatter of the few pairs who remained, still discussing song choices and meetings. Surprisingly, as he walked down the empty hall, Kurt found that he wasn't in the least bit mad at Sebastian for laughing. Maybe it was because the laughter had sounded more like joy at something entertaining rather than cruel laughter at the school freak's expense.


End file.
